The 2010–11 Ulster Rugby season was

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

's 17th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and their second under head coach Brian McLaughlin. This season marked the debuts of two South Africans, scrum-half

Ruan Pienaar Ruan Pienaar (born 10 March 1984) is a retired South African professional rugby union player who played either as a scrum-half or as a fly-half for the in the Currie Cup. Pienaar is the son of former Springbok fullback Gysie Pienaar. Ru ...

(replacing

Isaac Boss Isaac Boss (born 9 April 1980, in Tokoroa, New Zealand) is a New Zealand–born Irish rugby union former player. His grandmother was born in Glenarm, County Antrim, thereby qualifying him to play for Ireland. He played scrum-half or ful ...

, who had moved to

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

) and second row forward Johann Muller. Ulster were quarter-finalists in the

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pr ...

, and semi-finalists in the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organization, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places pa ...

was Player of the Year.

Nevin Spence Nevin Spence (26 April 199015 September 2012) was an Irish rugby union player for Ulster in the Pro12. He played as a Centre, but could also play Wing. He was educated firstly at Dromore High School, where he was introduced to rugby, and then at ...

was IRUPA Young Player of the Year. Forwards coach Jeremy Davidson left at the end of the season.

Staff

Squad

Senior squad

Players in (Season 2010/2011)

* Johann Muller: from

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

* Tim Barker: from

Glasgow Warriors The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...

from

* Pedrie Wannenburg: from

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine * Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

* Adam D'Arcy from Manly RFC *

Paul Emerick Paul Emerick (born January 24, 1980) is the head coach of the Colorado Raptors, American Raptors in Glendale, Colorado. He was the defense and skills coach and the 2019 interim head coach for the Houston SaberCats of Major League Rugby. He was a ...

from Overmach Parma *

Jerry Cronin Jeremiah Cronin (14 September 1925 – 19 October 1990) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Defence from 1970 to 1973 and Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture and Fisheries from 1969 to 1970. He served as a Teac ...

from Ballynahinch * Alan Whitten from

Instonians Instonians is a sports club based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, that incorporates rugby union, men's and ladies' hockey and cricket sections. There is also a golf society that plays under the Instonians name. Instonians Rugby Football, Cricket ...

(short-term injury cover)

Promoted from academy

* Adam MacklinMicheal McGeary, "New deals for Ulster quartet", ''Belfast Telegraph'', 13 January 2010 * Paddy McAllister * Neil McComb * Ian Porter *

Tommy Seymour Thomas Samuel Fenwick Seymour (born 1 July 1988) is a Scottish former professional rugby union player. He made 55 international appearances for the Scotland national rugby union team 2013–2019, scoring 20 tries which placed him fourth-top try ...

* Jamie Smith

Players out (Season 2010/2011)

* Ed O'Donoghue to

* Timoci Nagusa to

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

Brendan Fanning, "Italians add life to party", ''Sunday Independent'', 29 August 2010 * Justin Fitzpatrick ''retired''"Ex-Ireland prop Fitzpatrick embedded in US rugby's exciting rise"
The 42, 13 January 2019 * Tamaiti Horua ''released''"Magners League – Ins And Outs"
Irish Rugby, 23 July 2010 * Matt McCullough ''retired'' *

Cillian Willis Cillian Willis (born 19 January 1985) is a former professional rugby union footballer. His primary position was scrum-half. He was born in Dublin and educated at Blackrock College in Williamstown and University College Dublin, where in 2006 he ...

Connacht Rugby Connacht Rugby is one of the four professional provincial men's rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Connacht B ...

* David Pollock ''retired'' * Bryn Cunningham ''retired'' * Clinton Schifcofske to Celtic Crusaders (rugby league)

Academy squad

Players in

Iain Henderson William Iain Henderson (born 21 February 1992) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for United Rugby Championship club Ulster and the Ireland national team, and has been selected for two tours with the British & Irish Lions ...

Paddy Jackson David Patrick Lindsay James "Paddy" Jackson (born 5 January 1992) is a professional rugby union player from Northern Ireland who plays for Lyon OU; in the Top 14, in France. He primarily plays at fly-half and previously played for Irish provin ...

* Kyle McCall * Ali Birch * Conor Carey * Craig Gilroy * David McGuigan * Stephen Lecky * Blane McIlroy * David McIlwaine

Players out

* James Sandford to Rotherham Titans * Sean Dougall * Pal Pritchard * Jonny Shiels

Season record

Heineken Cup

Pool 4

*Biarritz won the tiebreaker over Ulster with a 6–4 advantage in head-to-head competition points.

Quarter-final

Celtic League

Semi-final

Home attendance

Ulster Ravens

British and Irish Cup

Pool C

Friendlies

Ulster Rugby Awards

The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held on 10 May 2011 at the Culloden Hotel, Holywood. Winners were:Niall Crozier, "Boks bag top gongs at awards", ''Belfast Telegraph'', 11 May 2011 *Ulster Rugby Personality of the Year: Johann Muller *Ulster Player of the Year:

*Supporters Club Player of the Year: Johann Muller *Young Ulster Player of the Year:

*Ulster Academy Player of the Year: Craig Gilroy *Most Improved Ulster Player of the Year: Adam D'Arcy *Youth Player of the Year: Conall Doherty, City of Derry R.F.C. *Club of the Year: City of Armagh RFC *Club Player of the Year: Paul Pritchard,

Ballymena RFC Ballymena Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in the town of Ballymena, Northern Ireland, playing in 2024–25 All-Ireland League (rugby union)#Division 2A, Division 2A of the All-Ireland League (rugby union), All-Ireland League. It is ...

*Schools Player of the Year: John Creighton,

Campbell College Campbell College located in Belfast, Northern Ireland and founded in 1894 comprises a preparatory school department (junior age) and a senior Northern Ireland 'Voluntary Grammar' school, the latter meaning, in terms of provision of education, a ...

*Dorrington B. Faulkner Award: Ronnie Clements, Limavady RFC

Season reviews

"Review of Ulster's Season"
Ulster Rugby, 1 June 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulster 2010-11 2010–11 in Irish rugby union 2010–11 Celtic League by team 2010–11 Heineken Cup by team